Old Master Auction Highlights
Sotheby's evening sale achieved £48m at the higher end of the estimated £31m– £48m but slightly below the 2010 equivalent £53.5m. Christie's evening sale was £49,8m at the lower end of their estimated £49m - £74m and compared to £42m in 2010.
Francesco Guardi's Venice, a View of the Rialto Bridge sold for £26,697,250 including premium at Sotheby's against an estimate of £15m-£20m. This is the highest price paid for any painting at an international auction in 2011, the highest price for any Venetian view painting at auction, as well as a record for the artist's work.
George Stubbs, A.R.A, Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath, with a trainer, a jockey and a stable lad, sold for £22,441,250 including premium at Christie's against an estimate of £20m-£30m, putting it in the top three of the most expensive Old Masters sold.
Thomas Gainsborough, R.A, Portrait of Mrs. William Villeboi sold for £6,537,250 including premium at the top end of Christies £4m-£6m estimate. A potent and elegant expression of British portraiture at its height, this work combined female glamour with bravura paint work.
Jacob Claesz van Utrecht
This wonderful triptych was both a beautiful painting and a precious object. The paint layers were in remarkable condition, the draughtsmanship on a par with some of the best of Netherlandish painting, the provenance distinguished, and the composition, although overtly religious, had a modernity and an appeal which extended beyond collectors of early northern European art. Formerly identified as a work by Cranach, the artist of this panel was only correctly identified in the late 1920s as Jacob Claesz van Utrecht. With almost no auction record, the work by Jacob Claesz proved difficult to estimate. It was pitched at the tempting level of £100,000-150,000 and, justifiably, flew past this to find a new home with a private European collector sold at Christie's, 5th July 2011, for £650,000.
Contemporary Auction Highlights
Above expectations sales with the Sotheby's auction achieving £109m, the estimate was £74m-105m and compared to £41.1m in 2010. Christie's recorded £79m in their sale versus their estimate of £55m-£77m and a £45.6m in 2010. Phillips de Pury announced £11m in their sale in line with their estimate of £10m-£14m and over double from their 2010 figure of £4m.
A significant highlight was the very important Duerckheim Collection of German Art sold by Sotheby's, with works not seen for forty years and in impeccable condition. The estimated proved woefully low at £32m - £46m with the final result at £60.4m. Sigmar Polke's record was broken three times consecutively during the sale.
Christie's sold Kay Saatchi's collection for £4m also above expectations with their estimate of £2.1m–£2.8m, setting record prices for Ron Mueck and Paula Rego. Also in the sale was Miquel Barceló Passing the Cape which set the record for any living Spanish artist selling for £3,961,250.
Francis Bacon's Study for a Portrait, 1953, sold at Christies for £17,961,250 including premium against an estimate of £11 million.
Sigmar Polke's Dschungel (Jungle), sold at Sotheby's for £5,753,250 including premium above the £3– £4m estimate. Peter Doig's Red Boat (Imaginary Boys) 2003-04, sold at Christies for £6,201,250, including premium, way above expectations with the estimate at £1.4-£1.8m.
